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First Year Observation
My first year of teaching was my most stressful by far! Not only was I green and inexperienced, but I was watched, observed and evaluated on a weekly basis. I had three students in the classroom with different disabilities, each requiring extra attention and daily interventions. I had absolutely no training in any of these disabilities. And I had no time to research and study these, as I was already working 10-hour days. One day, without any warning, four adults with clipboards entered my classroom, and without a word, began watching my every move. One was for my hearing impaired student, another for the autistic boy, one observing me for the girl with cerebral palsy, and an administrator. The pressure was intense. It was all I could do to block them out and try to concentrate on my instruction. As soon as they left the room, I nearly collapsed with relief. Seriously, four at once? I gave the students free talking time, and de-stressed at my desk.
Can you relate?
Nearly every teacher has an observation nightmare story. What other job has someone in authority standing over your shoulder, recording your every move? It’s one aspect of teaching that keeps teachers up at night. And not just the night before, but the entire previous week as you plan and anticipate the visit. (That is if they give you advanced notice.) Does anyone really perform at their best under these circumstances?
Help is on the Way!
Not every observation goes as planned. However, one year, I had a partner across the hall who gave me a lesson to impress! We were studying probability. I expressed to her that I needed something that would engage my students and impress our administrator. She suggested I do this: Break students into groups of 3 or 4. (I did this the day before so there was no argument from the students). Give each student group a single die, a tally sheet, and poster paper. The day of the observation, I assigned a job to each member of the group. Students created a 4-column table and labelled each: “Outcomes”, “Tally”, “Theoretical Probability” and “Experimental Probability” In the outcomes column, students listed the 6 possible outcomes of rolling the die. The second column was for tallying the actual outcomes as they rolled the die 24 times. In the third column, students recorded the theoretical probabiity of each outcome (1/6).
And then the fun began. The principal entered the room intrigued. The students were excited and alert. As students were rolling the die in each group, the Principal chose a group and joined in the game. When they finished tallying all 24 rolls, students worked together to determine the experimental probability, and entered it in the 4th column. Then they created a group poster showing the difference between the two types of probabilty for each outcome. They used complete sentences to explain why the outcomes were the same or different. Proud students displayed their finished posters around the classroom and then moved from poster to poster observing the different results of each group. Everyone had fun, including the Principal! I was still stressed, but this time, it ended in success. (I later took my colleague out for coffee to thank her for her great lesson!)
Does it get easier?
I guess we all get better at handling the pressure of these observations, but honestly, after 20+ years, it still caused me great stress. (I’m retired now.) But I will say, to those of you just starting out, you will get better at teaching. You will gain confidence in your abilities, and accumulate an arsenal of engaging lessons, and methods that work for you. My advice to you is to reach out to more experienced teachers. Open up to them and you will find you are not alone. Most teachers are willing to share what they know and gladly give you that super lesson plan that gets you through your evaluations. (They will even volunteer to take that “one student” for the day, so he/she won’t sabatoge your lesson!) Remember, the stress you feel is shared by all of us. You are not alone. And your great lesson plan arsenal will grow and grow!
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